


Softly, carefully

by Brynnen, TwaCorbies (Brynnen)



Series: Avengers Recovering and Reassembling [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Cooking, Developing Friendships, Gen, Psychology, Recovery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-10
Updated: 2017-10-10
Packaged: 2019-01-15 19:32:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12327396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brynnen/pseuds/Brynnen, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brynnen/pseuds/TwaCorbies
Summary: Left hanging after the battle of New York, Tony looks for answers in way too much coffee and science benders; Bruce wonders if he can ever trust himself and Steve is lost in a homeland he doesn't recognise as home.Can they help each other to hurt, even just a little less?





	Softly, carefully

Tony was distracted from his current Iron Man design at the sound of his lab doors swooshing open. He had no idea where this design was going, but who cared? Science!

  
'Knock knock.' Bruce Banner said sheepishly, he hovered in the doorway with his hands in his pockets and shoulders slightly hunched as if ready to cringe. The man looked ready to flee if Tony made any sudden movements, almost cowering in a shirt and slacks provided by Shield after he'd de-Hulked at the end of the battle. It was a damn' waste, Banner was a towering intellect going to waste thanks to that warmongering prick Ross.

  
'Hey Bruce. You come for a play date? I have some neat ideas for a smart textile that won't fall off your skinny ass when you de-Hulk. You did good finding a compound to protect us from surprise Hulk-dong, but I've got a few new ideas on that problem.' He kept his tone airy, waving his hand in circles that set the hologram displays between them to spinning. The guy had done incredibly well given that he'd had almost zero budget and whilst an engineer had little known textiles experience.

  
Bruce chuckled at the billionaire's fast patter. The man had flaws aplenty, but his intelligence and raw charisma made it hard to get mad at him. He scrubbed a hand through his hair, unable to quell the nervous gesture. 'Eheheh. That sounds like a good idea, but it's not what I came for.' Bruce took a deep breath to steel himself against the probable rejection and likely explosion he was setting off.

  
'Do you have a basement or similar that is Hulk proof? I need to try and get to grips with... my condition, to understand the other guy so I can work with the team without endangering anyone.' He could feel his heart-rate picking up at the mere thought of letting the other guy loose, but Shield had him now, so he just had to try and mitigate the worst.

  
Tony tried to unobtrusively shift behind his heavily reinforced workbench at the way Bruce's breathing sped up, then felt bad when he realised Bruce had noticed.

'I thought you'd never ask!' He dug up a suitably enthusiastic tone to try and snowplough through the awkward. 'Jarvis, bring up the schematics for the Green Room.'

  
Bruce winced good-naturedly at the name and resettled his glasses on his nose to peer at the hologrammatic projection. 'Thank-you Jarvis.' He murmured politely to the computer, he had his suspicions about the thing and wasn't about to set back human/ai relations on the off-chance he was wrong.

  
It was magnificent, sturdy construction and materials originally designed for cold war bomb shelters, but with thickly padded walls layered with varying densities of foam and upholstered with a tough but soft synthetic material. Every reasonable precaution had been taken, even down to the HVAC system's ability to dispense any number of substances. Additionally, the room was plush and comfortable, not a mere prison to prevent the other guy from wrecking everything.

'What colour scheme have you picked out? I never did like frilly curtains.'

  
'You worried about potentially triggering stimuli for the big guy?' Tony caught the thought behind the light jest.

  
'White and chrome aren't good.' He looked lost in some distant time or place, horrors stacking up behind his eyes. Bruce's breathing hitched and he shuddered violently.

  
'Well lucky for you Pepper decided to take an interest in this project. Soothing greens and blues all the way.' Tony waved away the building tension with a fond smile.

  
Pepper had decided she liked Dr Banner early on in the Shield operation to track down the hapless physicist, watching his life of penury on the edges of society, trying to lend a little aid to his fellow dispossessed as he went. They'd both seen how the Hulk's trail of destruction only started when Ross and his brutes arrived in town and had been sick with terror when the trail had gone cold for a month before Ecuador had exploded with a rash of inexplicable disasters. When Tony had suggested the possibility of hosting the esteemed physicist and his cranky alter ego she'd nodded with a clenched jaw.

'You and Jarvis had better make sure he's safe and comfortable. The problem will be making him feel this isn't just a gilded cage, the poor man's been through enough without us compounding his problems.'

'C'mon, I'll take you down now and you can let me have your suggestions for pimping the place out.' Tony abandoned the project and bounded towards the elevator. He was on day 2 sans sleep, surfing the coffee wave and riding the peak of energy and creativity before the jitters and hallucinations started up.

  
Bruce stopped stock still outside the doorway and peered in, angling his body to give him peripheral vision of the hallway. Had someone else tried this trick on him before? It seemed like every encounter Tony had with the reclusive scientist was another data point in Tony's mind map of how badly a man could be hurt. His mind had fractured under the sheer volume of mistreatment he'd suffered, but the dominant personality seemed to have resisted bitterness and nihilism for the most part. Part of Tony itched to study him, but another part of him just wanted to give him the solitude he desired, buy a big hunk of Utah, build a nice ranch and let Jarvis fortify the place so Banner could have the peace and calm he so desperately craved.

  
Tony moved past him into the room, taking care not to jostle Bruce and stood in the centre of the large space arms outstretched in an expansive gesture as he spun to admire his work.

'All mod cons, the place is heated to a balmy 80 degrees, piped in music courtesy of Jarvis - you or the big guy got any favourite bands just let him know! Relaxing lighting, any colour or intensity you want or need, look at the cute little pool, complete with Hulk-sized rubber ducky! Check out the plush throw pillows, Brucie and Hulk sized, I like the corduroy personally. It's all soft and tactile and comforting while also sturdy. I was thinking that maybe having such diametrically different to usual haptic sensations to lose yourself in might help. Lots of possible sensory stimuli with the heat, lighting, speakers and potential for scent diffusion via the HVAC.' Tony wandered around the large space, pointing out various features, just running his mouth to give a soothing wall of information.

  
His rambling worked, Bruce followed him in, stopping just inside to sink to his knees and bury his fingers in the shaggy woollen texture of a throw the size of a tarpaulin. The walls were an abstract muddling of green and blue shades and the floor was littered with cuddly pillows and blankets. Jarvis had selected a soothing flute piece to play in the background and the ambient temperature was a gentle warmth that seemed to be seeping into his aching bones. He felt stretched thin and raw after the battle of New York and having stimulus after stimulus thrown at him was too much to handle. His vision wavered as the tight grip he tried to keep on his emotions slipped.

  
Tony wondered if he'd screwed the pooch when Bruce's head dropped and the sound of his breathing developed an ominous basso tone. Had he upset the guy?

  
Oh God this was too much. Tony's generosity was choking him! Why were his eyes burning? Why did this kindness ache like a tender bruise? It hurt to breathe and he roared as the familiar darkness pooled in his belly. 'Get out Tony! While you can!'

  
Tony looked into green-flecked eyes and obeyed without arguing. He sprinted out, tripping over a throw pillow before the door slammed shut behind him and he leant against it, ears straining but the room's soundproofing was working to spec. 'Jarvis, how's he doing?'

  
'Dr Banner has transformed, but seems subdued in comparison with the Hulk's previous excursions.' The Starkphone in Tony's pocket buzzed and he pulled it out to see a live stream of the inside of the room. Hulk beat his chest briefly, roaring in a display like a silverback gorilla's before peering about him in utter bemusement.

  
'Hulk smash? Not things to smash!' The basso profundo rumble was heavy with puzzlement and he explored the room slowly, pushing his short nose into the pool to sniff its contents, then snorting as water shot up his nose. One gigantic mitt rose to paw at a throw cushion and after several minutes exploring the place minutely, sniffing each item as he went (and taking a curious nibble on the rubber duck) he collapsed onto his back and rolled in the blankets and pillows carpeting the floor.

  
'Hulk safe? Puny Banner safe too... Why Hulk needed?' Tony scrutinised every change of expression as the Hulk attempted to reason his way through this conundrum. The Hulk was displaying rational, even abstract thought as his brows pulled together. The brutish face was mobile, expressions flitting across his features - he was transparent, each stage of his thought process writ large across his face.

  
'Banner hurt old times, this Hulk know. Why puny Banner hurt by it now? Bad is gone, yes?' He tilted his head to one side like a curious dog, seeming to listen to an internal voice. 'Hulk confused, soft room, pretties...' He paused to pick up and examine a huge throw pillow shaped like a pig. 'This not Hulk place. No stingies or bad mans to fight, show them Hulk strongest of all.'

  
Tony watched in fascination as Hulk hugged the bright pink piggy cushion and rocked on his heels pensively. Hulk's body language was childish, vocabulary and syntax of a level with a toddler's. Was Hulk an alter ego, the projection of a need for strength and safety? If his syntax was indicative of the point of fragmentation then Banner's childhood had been worse than Tony realised. He'd seen the defensive injuries on Bruce's hands and arms, read the police reports about his mother's murder... Viewed through that lens the puzzle of Hulk started to make sense.

  
Hulk was huge and strong, angry too in a baffling way, like a child might view an abuser as simultaneously terrifying and yet the most powerful force in their small world....

Tony shook his head to stop that train of thought. Whether he was on the money or not, he doubted Banner would appreciate that kind of speculation. Tony needed a drink and a damn' strong one at that.

  
Urgh. His whole body ached as if he'd gone ten rounds with King Kong and Bruce crawled blindly towards the sound of water, drinking from the shallow pool in the corner of Tony's Green Room. He'd transformed and the room appeared to be intact, from what he could see without his glasses.

  
So it seemed that the transformation itself was the physically exhausting and painful part, not necessarily the Hulk's activities. Bruce found a blanket small enough to drape around his body in a makeshift cloak and reviewed his intermittent recollections of the Hulk's visit.

  
The big guy had been confused. Bruce straightened and rearranged himself to sit in a lotus position hands circling into delicate mudras like birds resting on his knees. Where had that thought come from? He wasn't one to wax poetic. Bruce shook his head and attempted to gradually draw his mind back to the matter at hand, letting his thoughts and memories bubble around the events of earlier that day.

  
Confusion was the main recollection, laced with... protectiveness? The Hulk was angry like a shield that was the shield he was to Bruce? He was struggling to parse the thought when Bruce caught a mental image of an especially puny imagined version of himself cradled to the chest of the other guy who had surrounded himself with a protective aura of red flames.

  
The image hit him hard, like a punch to the gut. Did the other guy feel obligated to him? Was seeking a cure ethical? Destroying another entity who had some, albeit different, form of sentience would be murder. But if the other guy was simply a manifestation of an alt his mind had segmented away in desperate self defence... He probably needed professional help. Did the other guy having a form grant him rights where a 'split personality' (he sneered at the Hollywood name) entitled him to a lot of medical help to improve his mental health.

  
Bruce cradled his aching head in his hands. He was broken, the other guy was just a manifestation of that. He'd been broken, worthless his whole life and the serum had merely highlighted the fracture in his Self in the same way the original super serum had acted on and amplified the virtues or vices of the test subject.

  
Punishing the other guy for Bruce's failings was wrong, that much he did feel clear on. As for the rest, he needed more data. And breakfast.  
The green room door opened to reveal Pepper Potts holding a tray. She was immaculately turned out, apparently about to step out for a day of high-powered meetings. She smiled as Bruce stood to greet her politely, knotting the blanket about him to form a makeshift sarong.

  
'Good morning Dr Banner. Would you like to join me in some breakfast?'

  
Bruce couldn't help the nervous laugh that slipped out even as he repressed the urge to say he doubted they'd both fit. Waking up in the place he'd transformed, safe and warm, then to be greeted by gentle words rather than loneliness or hostility was almost overwhelming. He wanted to cry, but tears had never done him any good.

  
'That sounds lovely, Miss Potts.' He wanted to ask for a pair of pants at least, but didn't dare say anything that might break the spell. It had apparently been the correct answer as Miss Potts' smile widened.

  
Pepper examined the man in front of her keenly. Dr Banner looked frazzled and exhausted, she knew that some of his problems couldn't be solved, but he'd been polite to her and indulgently amused by Tony's antics. She couldn't solve his insoluble problems, but she could give him some of the resources he needed to pull himself back up by his bootstraps. 'Do you need to do some clothes shopping? I understand you had to leave basically everything when Shield called you up. Given how they pulled that on you and seeing how you helped save the world, I think Shield owe you an expenses account at the very least.'

  
Banner's eyes widened and Pepper grinned mischievously. 'Come on, it's an organisation that swoops around dramatically on flying aircraft carriers, since they kidnapped you, Fury at least owes you a couple sets of clothes.' She'd have offered to have Stark Co foot the bill for the spending spree of his dreams, but waving Tony's wealth in the penniless scientist's face was tacky and might make him feel like he was a charity case. Besides, Shield owed Banner way more than a new shirt.

  
'Let me guess, Tony's somehow cloned a Shield company credit card?' Pepper handed him a plate of waffles with a cheerful cry of 'bingo!'

  
'I wouldn't normally approve of him backsliding into sophomoric pranks, but it isn't as if you can sue Shield for what they're putting you through, so we'll even the score this way.' Pepper perched on a pouffe and began eating her own breakfast.

  
Bruce decided he liked Pepper. The way she'd so practically suggested a way of scoring points off Shield to help him claw back a little power for himself, offering him a solution that wasn't charity made him smile. Ms Potts was intelligent and politically astute, it was good she seemed to be broadly on his side. He hoped they could be friends, then felt a chill as he remembered what he was. Bruce Banner didn't deserve nice things like the friendship of a sharp woman like her. His mood dipped and Bruce tried to force his mind away from those thoughts.

  
The waffles were delicious and covered in chocolate syrup, making Bruce feel like a kid. He wondered if he was being patronised, but a glance at Pepper's plate revealed she had exactly the same as he did. If anything she had even more chocolate sauce drenching hers. That was one heck of a sweet tooth!

  
'So did you have any plans for today? I'm in meetings pretty much all day, the new iteration of the Starkphone is nearly done so I've got to meet with R&D, marketing, design, finance, the branding people....'

Pepper smiled at the expression on Bruce's face. 'It's not that bad, no matter what Tony tells you. They're pussycats really. But it all means if you want to head out shopping, Happy's available to run interference, stop people getting in your face or even just carry bags!' She added the last with a lilting giggle at the memory of Happy's hangdog expression when she'd been in Paris with no luggage, a free afternoon and a week's worth of events to buy outfits for. The big fellow was a real sweetheart.

  
Bruce felt a stab of fear at the thought of going out and shook his head hurriedly. 'While I do need some pants that are in one piece I don't think going out would be wise. I'll order something in, pay same day delivery charges to get at least a set of clothes couriered over.' He'd have felt guilty about the extra cost of speedy delivery, but Shield owed him. They owed him a lot more than what a morning with a credit card could make up for, but he needed a private line to his cousin Jen and that other young lawyer Matt Murdock and enough time to do the digging he needed to in order to make his position a little less precarious. Pepper's mention of suing Shield had started ideas fermenting at the back of his mind as to how to fortify his position and hopefully stop Fury taking advantage of him. Until then he was living off Stark and Potts' charity.

  
He'd fallen into a grim brooding silence, mashing the remains of his breakfast with tiny, rapid motions of his fork. Pepper sighed internally, wondering if the trait was a hallmark of superheroes, she'd caught young Steve moping about the kitchen just the other day. She was probably going to get used to it, given that Stark Tower was currently a home for superpowered waifs and strays. It was going to take a good few more breakfasts before Bruce and she could discuss anything deep and meaningful. She realised that the thought was a pleasant one.

  
'Mmm, well it was nice having your company for breakfast Dr Banner, but I need to get a hustle on. See you later.' She gave him a warm smile and headed off to her first meeting.

  
'Thanks for breakfast, Miss Potts. It was nice.' A vocabulary of tens of thousands of words and all he could manage was 'it was nice'? Bruce shook his head and re-secured the blanket around him. 'Jarvis? Would you order a couple of sets of clothing in my size, to be delivered post haste please? Pay using the Shield details you have, if you would please.'

  
'Certainty Dr Banner. Please use the pyjamas provided in the mean time if you wish to be clothed.' By the entrance to the green room a drawer opened to reveal several sets of pyjamas in varying sizes and colours. It looked like Tony had started using the Green Room for sleepovers at some point. The mental image was surreal, but the genius engineer was a law unto himself. Bruce hastily donned a set of brown plaid pyjamas in a soft flannelette fabric. They were too big, but folding back the cuffs of sleeves and legs enabled him to walk without tripping.

  
'What time is it, Jarvis?'

  
'Quarter to seven in the morning. You slept for approximately nine hours and forty-eight minutes.'

  
The whole situation was too surreal and Bruce began a meditative breathing pattern to quell the restless scrabbling emotions that threatened his equilibrium. Jarvis switched the music playing in the lift from Girl from Ipanema to the poignant wail of a solo shawm, making Bruce smile and serene lack of emotion reasserted itself.

  
Steve looked up at the sound of the lift. He thought he would be the only early riser of the Avengers currently living in the tower. 'Doctor Banner, good morning.' He smiled at the strange little man he didn't really know.

  
'Ah, Captain Rogers.' Bruce took in the helplessly spread arms and the kitchen equipment strewn across the counters. Stark tower must be even more of a culture shock to someone from the Great Depression. 'Can I help you?'

  
'I just wanted a cup of Joe.' Steve admitted, bewildered by the variety of machines.

  
Captain America had a blender in one hand and a pack of ground coffee in the other. 'Okay. This kitchen is a bit better equipped than I'm used to too, but let's see what we can find.'

  
Steve stood back and watched helplessly as the scientist looked around humming thoughtfully. 'Instant might be easiest. Ah, here's a kettle and... ah, this button here lights the stove.'

  
Steve recognised the bewildered look on the smaller man's face as he examined the stove carefully before hazarding a guess at which button ignited the hob. Now someone else was here helping, Steve recognised the kettle and while the stove was huge and shiny, gas being set alight to heat food couldn't really change that much. Dr Banner put a spoonful of little coffee granules in a mug, then a little bag of tea leaves into another for himself. 'Milk, sugar, cream?'

  
Oh, Steve could have those? He scrabbled to answer, but felt like he'd run dry.

  
Bruce looked up. Culture shock crept up on you and struck in the funniest ways sometimes. It was almost comforting not to be the only person struggling with it. 'How about I make it strong and sweet? Your metabolism probably needs the extra calories and nowadays there's enough food around for you to fuel your system adequately. If you don't like the taste, then I'll know for next time.'

  
How could this calm, gentle man be the terrifying monster Loki had unleashed on the helicarrier, the thing that had torn up a whole level trying to kill Nat? What he was saying sounded reasonable, so Steve nodded as the kettle started up the shrill whistle he recognised from back home. He watched Banner operate a tiny lever to open the spout and pour the hot water into both cups. Banner raided the cupboards for little glass jars of spices Steve had only heard of, stirring half a dozen ingredients into his own mug, then dumping a goodly portion of milk and sugar into both their mugs. Steve's enhanced senses were intoxicated by the smell of Banner's drink. Dr Banner caught him looking and gave him a smile. 'It's tea, Indian style - char. You want some?'

  
'Please, it smells delicious.'

  
'I learnt this recipe from a cha-wallah on the Indian railway system. Here, I'll make another and show you the recipe.'

  
Steve accepted the mug and sipped at the hot, comforting drink, rolling the flavours around in his mouth, savouring them. Dr Banner patiently showed what spices he liked to use, mentioned others he'd heard people using and described the sight of sari-clad women sat in the warmth of golden sunshine, patiently grinding little seeds or withered looking roots with pestle and mortar until they yielded up their aromatic, bright powders. The pictures he painted with words made Steve yearn to visit a country Banner had obviously come to love.

  
'Wow, what made you leave India? It sounds like a swell place.'  
Bruce grimaced. 'Shield tracked me down, sent in Black Widow to repatriate me by force.'

  
'Is that why Hulk was trying to get her?' It explained a lot. Steve wasn't blind, Fury behaved in a downright shoddy way sometimes if he thought it would get him what he wanted. It made sense that he'd strongarm someone as good at hiding as Banner. Having seen what parts of Shield thought was justifiable in service of their work he had little doubt that Banner had spent the past week with the Hulk threatening to come out constantly due to the level of duress he was put under.

  
'She lured me out with a false alarm - a sick kid I'd been helping, then had me surrounded, forced me back here to a place I'm hunted by the military.' Banner paused to clean his eyeglasses unnecessarily. 'I don't know how much bleeds through between our minds, but she bullied and intimidated me and the other guy...' He shrugged. 'He must have seen her as a threat because of that.'

  
Steve sighed, scaring and bullying anyone, let alone someone as unaggressive as the doctor was wrong, Shield had frankly reaped what they'd sown there. 'I'm sorry to hear that Doctor Banner. You and the Hulk's help was invaluable, but you shouldn't have been doing it as a prisoner.'

  
He really was Mom's apple pie and stars and stripes wholesome, it was baffling to meet someone like that outside a badly-written novel. Bruce pushed the tangle of emotions threatening to well up back down and changed the subject. 'Have you eaten? In that case, how about we see what we can cook up? Any preferences?'

  
Steve went with the sudden change in subject. 'Biscuits and gravy were always my favourite.' Mom had made them on special occasions when they'd been able to scrape enough money together.

  
Bruce nodded. He'd always had cereal, dry when there wasn't milk in the house, fixing it himself in careful silence so as not to disturb the sleeping volcano of his father and not wanting to wake his mother from the few moments of peace she got. 'Hmm, Jarvis do you have a recipe for biscuits and gravy Captain Rogers might enjoy? I've never made them before.' He admitted to Steve.

  
'Me neither, Mom used to chase me out the kitchen to lie down and rest up.' Steve said with a wistful smile.

  
'I believe this recipe is close to the one Mrs Rogers used.' Jarvis brought the display up at Banner's eye level. 'All of the necessary ingredients are stocked within the pantry and refrigerator.'

  
Steve beat the mixture for the biscuits while Dr Banner made the gravy, it was nice doing something together. He'd spent the war jammed cheek by jowl with the howling commandos, hearing outrageous stories about nurses, sharing jokes and casual slaps on the back, commiserating and celebrating together until they were no long a bunch of guys, but a family of soldiers, brothers who had each others back and who would march into the jaws of Hell for one another. The future had sights and sounds, technological wonders that took his breath away, but he hadn't found anything but a glimpse of camaraderie in that brief moment when the team stood together against the Chitauri and put squabbling and who's king of the hill aside to become a force greater than the sum of their parts.

  
Then it had fallen apart. Agent Coulson had passed away and Clint and Natasha had withdrawn back to Shield to lick their wounds and mourn their losses. Thor had gone back to Asgard, a muzzled Loki in tow. That left himself, Dr Banner and Tony Stark drifting about the habitable areas of Stark Tower.

  
Stark... Steve hadn't seen the man since they'd all eaten shwarma together. He was a civilian who'd willingly nearly lain down his life for the entire world. That had to counterbalance at least some of the man's sheer annoyance.

  
'Hey, Captain Rogers? I think you're ready to shape and bake those.' Banner's careful tones interrupted his train of thought. He was looking at Steve assessingly, as if Steve were a bomb about to go off.

  
Steve realised the metal mixing bowl he'd been using was bent into an oval and his grip was imprinted into the metal where he'd been holding it steady. 'Oh, yes. You can call me Steve if you like, Doctor Banner.' He offered cautiously.

  
'I'd like that. Call me Bruce if you want then.' There was that smile again, warm and calm. It didn't seem fake as such, but Steve didn't quite believe it either, but it was nice not to be constantly butting heads with yet another person way smarter than himself.

The quiet between them as the biscuits cooked was nice, just sipping their drinks as warm savoury fragrances filled the kitchen. Bruce startled a little when the timer bell went off, smiling sheepishly when he saw Steve had been watching. Monster or no, Steve couldn't help but smile back.

  
Bruce looked through the cupboard again to find a plate ready to serve up breakfast, caught the look Steve gave him. 'I already ate.'

  
'Thank you for taking the time to help me, Bruce.' That touched Steve, the fact Bruce had chosen to help him for no reason other than for helping's sake.

  
Now that smile looked more real. 'You're welcome Steve. See you later.'

  
He left Steve eating the biscuits and gravy and headed to the lab space Tony had said he could use. Being back in a lab helped engender a sense of normalcy he needed badly at the moment and Jarvis projected the last set of notes he'd made on his findings with regards to both Tesseract and Staff. The Tesseract had been fascinating, if it would yield up some of its secrets then perhaps safe renewable energy might not be such a pipe dream. If only nuclear energy hadn't lived up to the label of terrible light, guiding humanity into horror.... Bruce shook off the mushroom cloud that had gathered in his mind's eye.

  
'Jarvis, would you look up contact details for Dr Selvig please? I want to share any and all findings on this with him, especially if he would like to collaborate - this is closer to his area after all, his thoughts would be very interesting.'

  
'Certainly Dr Banner.' Jarvis began a careful search for the European physicist, also provisionally creating a profile for the man and sending a message to Sir to check whether it might be appropriate to invite Selvig to stay. Sir would relish the opportunity to keep someone else away from Fury's machinations.

  
In the meantime Bruce gestured to bring up a diagram of the wavelengths emitted by the alien device, tongue poking out as he attempted to control the spinning display as he separated out and analysed various elements, scribbling notes into his very battered journal in a cryptic and space-saving shorthand. As he gestured his control improved due to both himself and Jarvis adapting to the other.  
It seemed like no time at all had passed before his thoughts were interrupted by Jarvis' pleasant British accent.

  
'Doctor Banner, your new clothes have been delivered. I took the liberty of having a bag ordered for you as well since you did not have the opportunity to pack.' Jarvis interrupted Bruce several hours later.  
Bruce startled, the gesture dismissing the display hanging in the air before him, beyond it several square yards of equations remained floating and Bruce was startled to realise that several hours must have passed, judging from the sheer volume of analysis spread out across the air. 'Thank you Jarvis, that was considerate.'

  
'I have had the new clothes transferred to your guest room, if you would like to have lunch and change.'

  
Was that an attempt at subtly hinting he should get out for a break? Bruce's mouth quirked in amusement at the AI's mother hen act. 'Good idea.'

  
His muscles still ached from last night's transformation, sitting in one position for several hours had only placed yet more strain on abused muscles. Some yoga, a hot shower and fresh clothes sounded marvellous now he was no longer immersed in work.

  
Jarvis had procured two very close duplicates of the increasingly battered suit he'd been living in for the week after his capture by Shield up until the battle of New York. The rugged but comfortable fabric was a nondescript brown that enabled him to blend into a crowd and the pockets were capacious enough for emergency escape supplies.

'Oh you're good.' Bruce mumbled as he dressed in one set, finding it to be that loose fit he preferred. He raked a hand through his still damp hair and headed back to the lab. Could it be that things might settle down, for a while at least?


End file.
